(Dave Bedard photo)

European Commission to extend glyphosate licence for 18 months

Reading Time: < 1 minute Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission is extending by 18 months its approval for the herbicide glyphosate, used in Monsanto’s Roundup, Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said on Tuesday. Contradictory findings on carcinogenic risks have thrust the chemical into the centre of a dispute between EU and U.S. politicians, regulators and researchers. Campaign groups urged […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

EU officials to decide on Roundup after political impasse

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters –– An impasse between EU nations on whether to allow Monsanto’s Roundup and similar herbicides to continue to be sold means that the European Commission, rather than national politicians, will decide the issue next week. With most EU attention focused on Britain’s shock decision to quit the bloc, everyday work continued in […] Read more


Table 1: Annual ryegrass sensitivity to soil-applied corn herbicides.

Pest Patrol: Sensitivity of inter-seeded annual ryegrass and red clover to corn herbicides

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

Reading Time: < 1 minute Research has been done in the United States and Canada to determine the tolerance of cover crops to various soil-applied corn herbicides. This article provides an overview of the results of that work, and provides some consensus across the different locations. Two important factors influence the potential for carryover injury to rotational crops: The sensitivity […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

EU countries refuse to back new licence for glyphosate

Reading Time: 3 minutes Brussels | Reuters — EU nations refused to back a limited extension of the herbicide glyphosate’s use on Monday, threatening withdrawal of Monsanto’s Roundup and other weed-killers from shelves if no decision is reached by the end of the month. Contradictory findings on carcinogenic risks have thrust the chemical into the centre of a dispute […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Germany to abstain in EU glyphosate vote next week

Reading Time: < 1 minute Berlin | Reuters — Germany will abstain in a European Union vote next week on the continued use of glyphosate in herbicides, because ministries run by different parties remain at odds over the chemical which some experts say could be carcinogenic. Contradictory findings on the carcinogenic risks of glyphosate have thrust the chemical into the […] Read more

Canada fleabane.

New crop protection products for this summer

New Technology: More options provide greater grower flexibility

Reading Time: 3 minutes Each new year tells its own tale and offers a new mix of tough cropping decisions, with the hope of a perfect growing season and higher yields. Weed and disease management are constant challenges for growers, however, particularly with changing species, the risk of resistance and the impact of weather throughout the growing season. The […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

EU delays vote on glyphosate license amid cancer row

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Union on Thursday delayed a vote on renewing sales approval for the herbicide glyphosate, used in Monsanto’s Roundup, amid a transatlantic row over whether it may cause cancer. Experts from the EU’s 28 nations had been due to vote on a proposal to extend by nine years licensing of […] Read more

Biologists isolate novel genes from cauliflower to improve crop nutritional value. A study committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine looking at gene-altered crops notes a genetically engineered characteristic that alters the nutritional content of a crop is “unlikely to have the same environmental or economic effects as a characteristic for herbicide resistance.” (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. study finds no risks to people, planet in GMOs

Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s time for the task of regulating new crop varieties to focus on plants’ characteristics rather than on how the plants were developed, a team of U.S. scientists recommends in a new report. A study committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on Tuesday released an “extensive” study of genetically engineered crops, finding […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

U.N. experts find glyphosate unlikely to cause cancer

Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — The herbicide glyphosate, sold by Monsanto in its Roundup product and widely used in agriculture and by gardeners, is unlikely to cause cancer in people, according to a new safety review by United Nations health, agriculture and food experts. In a statement likely to intensify a row over its potential health […] Read more

(Europa.eu)

Germany looks set to abstain in EU glyphosate vote

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Germany looks set to abstain in a European Union vote next week on the continued use of glyphosate in weed killers because ministries run by different parties remain at odds over the chemical which some experts say could be carcinogenic. Glyphosate is used in many herbicides including Monsanto’s Roundup, despite a dispute between […] Read more